11.237 | Spring 2016 | Graduate

Practice of Participatory Action Research (PAR)

Readings

Van Maanen, John. Tales of the Field: On Writing Ethnography. University of Chicago Press, 2011. ISBN: 9780226849645. [Preview with Google Books]

John Van Maanen’s Tales of the Field is strongly recommended as a background text for this course. While it is not a PAR text, it is a classic in the field of ethnography and an excellent reflection on fieldwork by a master. The book should be particularly helpful for understanding the role of narratives in social science research and preparing for the narrative analysis assignment.

WEEK # CLASS # READINGS
1: Defining PAR 1

Bradbury-Huang, Hilary, and Peter Reason, eds. “Introduction.” Chapters 1 and 2 in The SAGE Handbook of Action Research: Participative Inquiry and Practice. 2nd edition. SAGE Publications Limited, 2013. ISBN: 9781446271148.

Flyvbjerg, Bent. Chapter 1 in Making Social Science Matter: Why Social Inquiry Fails and How It Can Succeed Again. Cambridge University Press, 2001. ISBN: 9780521775687. [Preview with Google Books]

Schwartz, Barry, and Kenneth Sharpe. “Introduction: The Need for Wisdom.” In Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing. Riverhead Books, 2011. ISBN: 9781594485435. [Preview with Google Books]

2

Singleton Jr, Royce A., Bruce C. Straits, et al. Chapter 2 in Approaches to Social Research. Oxford University Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780195372984.

Greenwood, Davydd J., and Morten Levin. Chapters 4 and 5 in Introduction to Action Research: Social Research for Social Change. SAGE Publications, 2006. ISBN: 9781412925976. [Preview with Google Books]

Notes on Greenwood and Levin (PDF)

Flyvbjerg, Bent. Chapters 6 and 9 in Making Social Science Matter: Why Social Inquiry Fails and How It Can Succeed Again. Cambridge University Press, 2001. ISBN: 9780521775687. [Preview with Google Books]

Think free Tv. " Dr. Quantum’s Double Slit Experiment." August 2, 2016. YouTube.

2: Case Study Method, Data Gathering, Strategies and Principles of PAR 3

Yin, Robert K. Chapters 1 and 2 in Case Study Research: Design and Methods. SAGE Publications, 2013, pp. 57–76. ISBN: 9781452242569. [Preview with Google Books]

Notes on Case Study Method from Yin, Chapter 1 (PDF)

4 Ragin, Charles C., and Howard Saul Becker. Chapter 4 in What Is A Case?: Exploring the Foundations of Social Inquiry. Cambridge University Press, 1992. ISBN: 9780521421881. [Preview with Google Books]
3: Narrative Analysis & Knowledge Co-Production; Ethical Implications 5

Flyvbjerg, Bent, Todd Landman, and Sanford Schram, eds. Chapter 3 in Real Social Science: Applied Phronesis. Cambridge University Press, 2012. ISBN: 9780521468503.

Riessman, Catherine Kohler. “Narrative Analysis.” Chapter 4 in Narrative Methods for the Human Sciences. Sage, 2007. ISBN: 9780761929987.

Snow, Kevin C., Danica G. Hays, et al. “Guiding Principles for Indigenous Research Practices.” Action Research (2015).

6

Public Science Project’s PAR Map

Cahill, Caitlin, Farhana Sultana, et al. “Participatory Ethics: Politics, Practices, Institutions.” ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies 6, no. 3 (2007): 304–18.

Ayala, Jennifer. “Split Scenes, Converging Visions: The Ethical Terrains Where PAR and Borderlands Scholarship Meet.” The Urban Review 41, no. 1 (2009): 66–84.

Optional

Goodnough, Karen. “Dealing with Messiness and Uncertainty in Practitioner Research: The Nature of Participatory Action Research.” Canadian Journal of Education 31, no. 2 (2008): 431–58.

4: Reflective Practice 7

Schön, Donald A. Chapter 2 in The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. Basic Books, 1984. ISBN: 9780465068784. (Vol. 5126.)

Scharmer, C. Otto. Chapter 15 in Theory U: Learning from The Future as It Emerges. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2009. ISBN: 9781576757635.

8 Students should view the Videos on Reflective Practice produced by the CoLab. (Note: video does not start automatically)
5: Case Analyses–Student Presentations 9

Flyvbjerg, Bent, Todd Landman, and Sanford Schram, eds. Chapter 11 in Real Social Science: Applied Phronesis. Cambridge University Press, 2012. ISBN: 9780521468503.

Langdon, Jonathan, and Kofi Larweh. “Moving with the Movement: Collaboratively Building A Participatory Action Research Study of Social Movement Learning in Ada, Ghana.” Action Research 13, no. 3 (2015): 281–97.

10

Bradbury-Huang, Hilary, and Peter Reason, eds. Chapter 35 in The SAGE Handbook of Action Research: Participative Inquiry and Practice. 2nd edition. SAGE Publications Limited, 2013. ISBN: 9781446271148.

6: Case Analyses–Student Presentations 11

Lykes, M. B. “Activist Participatory Research and the Arts with Rural Mayan Women: Interculturality and Situated Meaning Making.” In From Subjects to Subjectivities: A Handbook of Interpretive and Participatory Methods. Edited by D. L. Tolman and M. Brydon-Miller. NYU Press, 2000, pp. 183–99. ISBN: 9780814782590.

Keremane, Ganesh B., and Jennifer McKay. “Using PhotoStory to Capture Irrigators’ Emotions About Water Policy and Sustainable Development Objectives: A Case Study in Rural Australia.” Action Research 9, no. 4 (2011): 405–25.

Course Info

As Taught In
Spring 2016
Level
Learning Resource Types
Written Assignments with Examples